11/09/2017

Things have not been running smoothly between Lucasfilm and a few filmmakers lately, but one director they have had no issues with is Rian Johnson. As Star Wars: The Last Jedi nears, it continues to look incredible and there have been zero reports of behind-the-scenes drama. Clearly, the working relationship they forged is one Lucasfilm hopes to maintain, because Johnson has just been put in charge of his own Star Wars trilogy.

Wow.

Johnson will write and direct the first chapter in a new trilogy, overseeing the whole thing with his producing partner Ram Bergman. And Johnson is giving us something Star Wars fans have been clamoring for, a storyline completely separate from the Skywalker clan. Instead the trilogy will focus on “new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored.”
Yes please.

Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy said in a statement, "We all loved working with Rian on The Last Jedi. He’s a creative force, and watching him craft The Last Jedi from start to finish was one of the great joys of my career. Rian will do amazing things with the blank canvas of this new trilogy.”Meanwhile, a new live-action Star Wars TV series is being developed that will be exclusive to Disney's streaming service to be launched in 2019. No word on if this will be related to previous attempts to bring this universe to the small screen, or if it is something completely different. Also in the works are TV series based on Monsters Inc. and an original from Marvel.
This is huge news. Johnson is a unique talent who can do special things in the Star Wars sandbox. Now it's suddenly not so bad that J.J. Abrams is directing Star Wars 9, right? [Variety]

Obviously I hope you like The Last Jedi. But man now I REALLY hope you like The Last Jedi.